An Adventure Worth A Thousand Lifetimes
by bri is spiffy
Summary: Raven Withers is indifferent, nothing worth her time in this seemingly endless lifetime. Meeting with Skulduggery Pleasant & Valkyrie Cain it now seems there is something interesting to fight for. But will her dark past prevail?
1. A Beginning

**A/N: Hey Everyone! This is a short start i came up with on the fly for a Skuttlebug Fanfic! I promise it'll get longer and heaps more interesting as the story progresses, so stick with me kay? ;) Enjoy~!**

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The girl leaning lazily over the edge of the rooftop terrace blinked once, cocking her head to the side. She preferred to keep a low maintenance check on the world around her; nothing was ever of much interest. This though, definitely sparked a flame of curiosity inside of her.

He was tall and thin to the extreme, the brim of his hat pulled down low over his forehead, wild curls of fuzzy hair springing out from underneath it. He had a crimson red scarf pulled up too high, obscuring most of his face and a pair of large round sunglasses on, hiding any remaining skin from view.

He was talking to a girl, at least sixteen with long dark brown hair and dark eyes, her cheeks red from the cold and her black coat with bloody red sleeves pulled tight around her as she chatted to him. The man didn't seem to be bothered by the cold, very odd indeed. It had been turning out to be one of Ireland's coldest winters ever after all.

The girl inched forward, her hands dangling off the edge and her dead straight bangs brushing her eyelashes. She tried not to get preoccupied by her appearance, key word being _tried_, but sometimes she couldn't seem to help it. She looked good and she knew it, her hair hanging long and straight to her waist, as black as the night sky and her large eyes sparkling emerald green.

That sparkle hadn't been there for a long time, every day it had been the same for the last fifty years, nothing seemed worth the effort and she remained docile as her life dragged on.

A boy appeared, literally out of thin air, beside the girl and man standing down in the snow. His voice was loud and eager, he reminded her of a stupid but playful puppy, and she caught a section of their conversation. Upon hearing the words a small smile played on Raven Withers lips and like deer, she daintily stood on the edge and took a step off, sliding through the snow down the side of the roof and landing the short fall with grace.

All three heads snapped around at the new arrival and immediately a small flame burst to life in the dark haired girl's hand, her eyes glaring at the intruder. Raven lifted her hands, pretending to wave a white flag to prove her innocence.

"Don't hurt me, I'm just an innocent person." Raven's musical voice sung and she blinked unsullied eyes. The flame went out and the hand was lowered but the glare remained.

"What brings you to eavesdrop on our conversation then jump off a roof to greet us _Miss Innocent Person_?" The tall man spoke, his voice smooth. Before Raven could get a word in a gust of wind caught them all off guard and the man's hat flew off, the girl jumping and catching it before it could get too far away. Raven blinked once, rubbed her eyes, and then repeated the action.

No, she wasn't seeing things as she had initially thought. The tall man standing in front of her was without a doubt a skeleton, no flesh, no eyes and no nose. Only a starch white skull. Raven opened her mouth to say something, the three people watching her reaction carefully, well two since the third as she just realized lacked a set of eyes for seeing. Though, he could mostly likely see anyway, he was looking right at her.

"You my dear fellow", she began trying to maintain composure, "are a skeleton".

He nodded once and took his hat back from the girl, "Indeed I am". Raven inclined at her head, trying to take in the image from another angle, it wasn't really helping though.

"Well, it was about time I found you Mr. Pleasant, though seeing you 'in the flesh', do forgive my terrible choice of words, is a little daunting…"

He shrugged, "I suppose it would be. Now if you don't mind, shall we move to a warmer location, Valkyrie?" The girl, Valkyrie, nodded quickly, ducked her head into coat and stood close to the boy with unusual hair.

"Well then, shall we?" The skeleton detective said cheerfully and gestured towards the street with one car parked on it, a Bentley.


	2. Reasons

**A/N: So this little story of mine is going to be full of humor, maybe a little 'please don't die' drama on the battlefield and some action too! There will be appearances of the other Dead Men, Ghastly and Ravel and some other undecided ones too!**

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The building was old, to say the least. It appeared to be abandoned and was in desperate need of a new coat of paint. A crooked sign tilted dangerously above the entrance, spelling out **HIBERNIAN CINEMA** in bold letters. The slim girl with a black mane of hair raised one eyebrow but didn't comment on the skeleton detective's choice of venue.

She followed him, the girl named Valkyrie and the young man with the insanely spiky hair cut, inside. She observed the blonde spikes closely from behind him and imagined how he would react if she dumped a bucket of water over his head, destroying those perfectly styled spikes, the idea made her smile but she stayed quiet, walking just a few steps behind them.

"Where are we?" Raven wondered loudly in a musical voice. There was no answer; the three in front of her ignored her comment.

"How rude." She said sulkily and stuck out her bottom lip in a pouting fashion. Valkyrie and spiky-haired boy kept walking but the detective stopped, turning back to Raven.

"Please be a dear and stop talking, it's distracting." Then he swiveled back around and continued his stroll. Raven scowled and shuffled after him, muttering curses as she went. They went through another door and into a room painted pearly white. Raven looked around, it seemed to be some sort of surgery from what she could tell. A short man with a head of poufy white hair came in and glared when he saw the skeleton.

"Skulduggery." His voice was full of distaste but he smiled genuinely at Valkyrie and nodded with a frown at the boy. Skulduggery started to explain that they had picked up some dead weight when Raven sauntered forward, a hand head to her forehead and a wounded expression on her face.

"Raven?" He said in surprise as he recognized the girl.

"Oh it's been terrible Mr. Grouse! Mr. Pleasant here has been absolutely uncouth! His hard words still leave tears in my eyes!" She sniveled and the scientist by the name of Kenspeckle Grouse rushed forward and hugged the whimpering girl.

"Oh no! And what a vulgar man Mr. Pleasant is! Skulduggery, how could you hurt such a lovely young lady?" He basically roared at the shocked detective, who was at loss of words.

"I didn't do a thing, that little devil there is whipping up lies." He remained calm as he spoke and pointed a gloved finger at Raven who had ended the hug and was standing behind Kenspeckle with a devious grin on her lips, shiny white teeth showing. Kenspeckle turned but Raven had already swapped her grin for a hurting, somber one, sniffling again and wiping her eyes. Kenspeckle turned back to the detective with a glower and tutted him.

"Ridiculous…" Skulduggery muttered and folded his arms across his chest.

Raven raised an eyebrow and caught the eye of Valkyrie, who has unconsciously moved closer to Raven. "He needs someone to remind him that he's not all that", she whispered with a small smile and Raven grinned.

"Big ego then?"

"Oh, _huge_!"

Raven laughed, "Ah _that_ kind of man, well it does hurt their pride when a fifteen year old girl comes along and knocks them off their throne."

Valkyrie looked surprised, "You're only fifteen?" Raven gave her a small nod and daintily lifted herself up onto one of the cold metal operating tables, swinging her legs back and forth. "Oh, I guess it just seemed like you were a lot older." Valkyrie looked a little disappointed.

Raven gave her a charming smile, "Age doesn't mean much in our world, and surely you knew that?"

Valkyrie nodded, "I did. But sometimes I wish I had a friend who at least _was_ my age, but fifteen is close enough". Across the room, the once preoccupied Skulduggery looked around, if he had skin, Raven knew his eyebrow would be raised. Raven didn't want to hurt the girl's feelings, but she could lie about this sort of thing.

"Um, Val? I can call you that right?" Raven wondered in a strained voice, Valkyrie nodded.

"Well Val, you don't have _anyone_ close to your age…." Valkyrie frowned in bemusement, trying to understand what Raven had just said. Then the confusion was gone; she now looked mortified and cringed.

"When you said fifteen…" She started in a small voice.

"I meant I _looked_ fifteen…" Raven explained softly with a rueful smile.

"Oh." That was all she said. They sat there in silence, Raven and Skulduggery exchanging a look before Valkyrie spoke again. "This is just curiously, I hope I'm not being to bold, but how old are you, I mean really?" The question startled Raven; she looked at her with doubtful eyes.

"Are you sure you want to know that?" She asked with clouded eyes. Valkyrie gave her a strong nod, she was sure she could handle it.

"Well we can say she's like a grandmother compared to me." Skulduggery chimed in with an amused voice and Raven shot a glare his way.

"And how old are you Skulduggery?" Valkyrie turned her attention to her partner and he looked at her for a few long seconds.

"About four hundred." He said it in a matter-of-fact tone and I watched Valkyrie's eyes widen once more.

"Wow. You're old, positively ancient." Raven burst into laughter, her newly acquired friend obviously hadn't heard of a subtlety.

"Then what does that make you?" His voice was annoyed now and his skull snapped to Raven. She gave him an angelic smile, "Me? As young as can be, maybe you didn't notice but I'm looking a lot better than you these days." He started to grumble and the girl's caught the words "ganging up on me" in it and started giggling together.

"It seems like you two are getting on well." They all turned and was a smiling lady with wavy hair and a sword in its sheath around her waist standing in the doorway beside the boy with odd hair. Raven tipped her head to an angel, blinking at the boy.

"You", she said, "I like your hair. It's weird." He looked happy and offended at the same time.

"It's weird?" He sounded a little defensive and reached up to touch the spikes.

"Oh yes, extremely! Weirdest thing I've seen in a long time!" Raven gave him an enchanting smile and his hand fell limply to his side.

"She's telling you it looks good." Valkyrie mouthed to him and his confidence shot up once more, he started grinning again.

"Fletcher, Fletcher Renn." He introduced himself with a smirk. "You may have heard of me, I'm the last teleporter after all." Raven shook her head innocently and the smile dropped right off his face.

"Fletcher, Raven here doesn't spend her time in cities, there was no chance she'd have heard of you or our adventures." Hearing this brought his smile back and I leaned over to Valkyrie with a raised eyebrow.

"Not the brightest one is he?" She sighed with an amused smile, "No, but he's mine to deal with and he means well." Raven gave her a wink and sat up straight once more.

"Tanith Low." Raven said with a nod, taking Tanith by surprise.

"Yes, I'd recognize that lovely piece of metal work anywhere." She nodded to the sword and Tanith looked between her and her weapon.

"Saw it being built many years ago, who knows how many exactly, it has a very smooth cut, no?" Tanith nodded and Raven smiled to herself, remembering how she met the eccentric blacksmith who had forged it over one hundred years ago. Tanith pulled up a chair and leaned over the back.

"I know you, you're Raven Withers right? I've heard stories about you." Valkyrie's eyes flicked to Raven's and I could see a silent Skulduggery watching.

"Ah, my reputation has always succeeded me…" Raven's voice was quiet and grim all her previous humor gone.

"Reputation?" Fletcher sounded clueless and he and Valkyrie exchanged a confused look.

"I have my own pit of shame, full of terrible things I've gone in my past." Raven began to explain, her eyes trained on the tiled floor.

"She fought along side Mevolent during the war." Skulduggery said in a solemn voice and walked over to us, leaning against the wall near Tanith.

"What…?" Valkyrie looked to her partner to see if he was joking but he gave a small shake of his head.

Raven pulled a repentant smile, "It began known as a curse on the battlefield if you saw the demonic Raven's wings swooping over you, mages who saw that were dead a few seconds later."

"Did you kill them?" Valkyrie sounded remarkably calm.

"I did."

Raven's green eyes locked onto Valkyrie's dark ones. "The truth horror of war, it's our duty to kill the enemy, people like Skulduggery were my enemies."

"And yet now we sit in the same room not at each others throats."

Raven chuckled, her smile back, "Funny how thing work out."

Valkyrie was silent but she gave a little sigh and looked up. "I don't care about that, it's your past, it's gone, and we live in the present."

Raven raised her eyebrows, "That's a very positive attitude you have there."

"There's nothing wrong with seeing the optimistic side of things."

"I suppose you're right." Raven compromised with another chuckle.

"Oh yes, Raven dear, I never thought to ask what you were doing here in Ireland?" Kenspeckle asked his old friend who got the attention of everyone else in the room.

"Oh, vacationing." There was silence and Kenspeckle gave her a sceptical look.

"Ok fine, I heard some rumors here and there involving your little Sanctuary and thought I'd do you all a world of good and warn you."

This was of interest to Skulduggery, his skull snapped around and he walked up. "Warn us? About what?"

Raven folded her hands under her chin, "Do you remember that funny little man, well he wasn't funny at all but _I_ found him funny, who created those wicked explosives just after Mevolent's fall?"

"Vaguely, yes. He was a little funny, not completely there mentally."

"Not many were after the war…"

"But we managed to stay completely intact." He said in good spirits.

Raven shook her head in disbelief, "I maybe, but sometimes I'm not sure about you."

"What a ridiculous notion, I'm perfectly sane."

She gave him a doubtful look and rolled her eyes, "You keep telling yourself that."

Skulduggery cocked his head, "But what does… what was his name again?"

"Victor Calamitous."

"Oh yes, that was it wasn't it? One of the most peculiar taken names I had ever heard, he mustn't of thought too much before taking it."

"Well, he's back on the scene. I didn't think too much of it at first, he had technically supported our side during the war so I ignored his actions, but it seems he's got his madman eyes set on Ireland now."

"And you came here to warn me?" Skulduggery inquired.

"I did."

"Interesting, normally you wouldn't bother involving yourself in something that has nothing to do with you… unless it _does_ have relevance to you?"

Raven scowled and looked away, "That stupid fool Calamitous has directed his threats towards me too. He set fire and destroyed my home in France! I'm not going to let him stand around and make a fool of me!"

Skulduggery laughed, "Oh is the dreaded Cursed Raven returning to bring strife upon the unsuspecting world?"

Raven smirked, "Oh you bet she is. And she's not going down without one hell of a fight."

He took his hat off, "We'll be joining in this battle, we Irish fight for our home."

"Sounds like a plan. To war we go."


	3. A Place To Stay

The girl with hair as black as sin and eyes glinting emerald's scowled at the rundown building. She shot a look over to the tall thin man beside her.

"And where are we this time?" Her scowl remained and she knew if the 'great' skeleton detective actually had skin he'd be smiling in amusement. "Your new home." He explained in a cheerful voice and her scowl turned into a glower directed at him.

"I am not living in this dump."

"Then where do you suppose you'll escape the cold then?" He inquired and Raven huffed.

"I wouldn't be able to escape the cold in there in the first place!"

"You didn't answer my question." There was silence from Raven. Skulduggery cocked his head to the side and watched her with empty black eye sockets. "I don't know alright! Are you happy now?" She brought her scowl back and dipped her face into her scarf with a shiver.

"Yes." He replied and strode away from the building back towards his Bentley, Raven scuttled after him and gratefully hopped inside beside him, the warmth turned on high.

"Why do I need somewhere to stay anyway?" She asked as they drove.

He glanced at her. "You need somewhere to live. Everyone does."

"That doesn't mean I have to have somewhere though." Raven retorted.

"I suppose you have a point, but you specifically need a place."

"And that brings me back to my first question, _why_?" Skulduggery was quiet for a few minutes as they drove before answering. "You just do."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "That isn't a justified reason."

He sighed once in frustration. "Could we please move onto a different topic?"

"Alright then." Raven decided joyfully and looked out her window before turning back to him. "Where are we going?"

"Must you always ask that same question?" He muttered grumpily and Raven grinned, amused by his annoyance at her.

"No, my question was different earlier. I asked where we _were_, we are still moving so I'm asking where we're _going_."

"Haggard." He replied irritably.

"And where is that?"

"Ireland." She gave him a skeptical look. "Really? I had no idea." He said nothing and she rolled her eyes. "So what's in Haggard?" No reply.

"Oh Raven, rainbows are fairies are in Haggard! You are going to room with them now! Oh that's so exciting Skulduggery, I can't wait!" She started to mimic him in a high voice and his head turned to her. "I don't sound like that." He complained. She grinned.

"No, you do. You just can't hear yourself properly." The car stopped and she peered out of her window at the large Iron Gate in front of them. Skulduggery got out of the car and bent back down to look at Raven when she didn't get out.

She looked at him. "We aren't driving up the drive?" He shook his head and she groaned."It's freezing out here!" She muttered and stuck her hands deep into her pockets as the cold hit her.

"It isn't that bad." Skulduggery said as they started up the icy drive and she glared at him as her breath fogged up around her.

"You're dead. You don't understand the concept of frostbite."

"I may be dead but I still have feelings." He said quietly.

"Oh how very sentimental of you. Maybe you didn't notice all those years ago but my consideration to other people's feelings is lacking." Raven snapped angrily.

He stopped and stared at her. "You'll have to let it all out one day."

Raven sighed deeply and looked back at him. "I know."

She looked up at their destination, a large elegant old house made from dark wood, a lively garden growing around the steps up to the front door. "Do I even need to ask where we are?"

Skulduggery chuckled. "No you don't even though you already did. This is where you will be staying."

She looked from the house to him. "Is this your house? I didn't know skeleton's needed houses."

"No, it isn't mine. This is the house of the deceased Mr. Gordon Edgley."

She looked at him suspiciously. "Oh? I've read his work, why is this my home for the time being?" He walked up the steps in front of Raven and unlocked the door, both of them stepping inside and flicking light switches.

"The day she turns eighteen, this house belongs to Valkyrie. She offered to let you stay here since you can't stay at her house with her parents around."

Raven blinked in surprise. "Oh that's right, she was Gordon's niece… That's very nice of her. I'll thank her next time."

He stared at her. "And no thanks for me, the one who drove you here?"

"Nope. You never answered my question in the car so you don't get a thank you." Raven huffed and crossed her arms after taking her thick black coat off.

"What was your question? I'll answer it now." Skulduggery told her.

She looked at him, exasperated. "I don't care about it now!"

"Then why did you bring it up now?"

"So I had a liable reason not to thank you." Raven snapped.

"You really hate me don't you?" The idea seemed to make him giddy.

"No, I don't hate you. I just have a lot of unadulterated dislike towards you."

"Ah. Well just to put it in there, I detest you very much also." He told her happily.

"Great, nice to know. Glad we had this conversation. Now if you don't mind I'm going to go warm up this place."

She started towards the kitchen when his jovial voice called out. "I don't mind."

She stopped and looked at him. "What?"

"I don't mind. You said _'now if you don't mind…'_ and no I don't mind." She gave him an incredulous look and stalked into the kitchen. "What a pain in the backside…." She grumbled and studied the heater shoved in the corner.

"I suppose if I kicked you my bones would hurt your backside…" A voice chimed in thoughtfully and she turned to glare at Skulduggery.

"You are so annoying!" She cried and he said nothing. She stormed up the stairs and into a room, slamming the door behind her. She slid to the floor and buried her face behind her arms, breathing quickly. Raven felt a burning on her left arm and pulled back her sleeve. The twisted black tattoo there seared against her skin and she pulled her sleeve back down.

"It always happens when I start to lose control…" She whispered to herself and her fingers curled into fists.

"It's an impressive mark." A humble voice commented and her head shot up, meeting the light glowing coming from around the corner of the room. She now noticed that it was full of paper and books, most likely the deceased author's study. She got to her feet and walked around, meeting the eyes of a shimmering Gordon Edgley. She recoiled in shock and looked closer, seeing the echo stone on the table.

"You're Gordon Edgley…" She said quietly and he nodded.

"This is just a guess, but are you the mysterious lady I heard about before my death, The Cursed Raven?"

Raven nodded and the projected image of Gordon Edgley beamed. "That's wonderful! I wanted to write a book on you but unfortunately I didn't get the chance."

"Oh, ugh, thank you." She said surprisingly flattered by his enthusiasm.

"Now my dear, I couldn't help but notice that you seem to have entered this room quite distressed. I may only be a copy of a great man but maybe I can help you?" She looked at the man's gentle smile and exhaled loudly, crumpling to the floor.

"Everything is out of control." She started with a sigh.

He nodded sadly. "Everything always seems to be, very frustrating."

Raven's hands went to either side of her face. "I don't know what I'm going to do."

Gordon bent down beside her with a face clouded with thought. "Don't think about it. Try letting loose and letting destiny decide instead. It'll calm you down." Raven looked at his soft smile and nodded once. "Alright."

"Now, not that I have any problem with it, but why are you in my and my niece's house?" He asked with a curious expression. Raven gave him an awkward smile and he frowned, looking at her closely.

"Oh no. Has Skulduggery got something to do with this?" When she nodded her reply and he sighed. "He always does…"

"But I was already involved in this, he just happens to be as well. I didn't _want_ to work with him, its more like I have to or Ireland will be destroyed along with myself and him."

"And I don't recall you ever being connected to the lovely Ireland?"

Raven sighed. "No, I'm not. The person trying to lay waste to the lovely Ireland also happens to hate me as well, after a series of infuriating acts of violence against me I'm not going to sit back and allow him to make a fool of me."

Gordon grinned at her and stood up, strolling over to a desk covered in open books with blank pages. "I just wish I could write about it, a fabulous thrilling adventure no doubt." His hands tried to brush the pages but passed through the book, he sighed sadly. "Being dead…" He murmured to himself and Raven grimaced thinking about the comment she had made about Skulduggery being dead earlier.

"_He's dead! I don't care about his stupid revived feelings anyway!"_ Her thoughts hissed.

She groaned and Gordon looked down at her. "What's wrong?"

"I'm feeling regret for a tasteless jab I made… I must being dying of the good-side disease!" Raven moaned and grimaced.

Gordon chuckled. "Hanging with my granddaughter is getting to you?"

"Yes! They'll ruin my sinister reputation! I'll end up saying cute things like 'aww' and actually apologize to people! And _not_ kill people!" The idea made her shiver and she scrambled to her feet, shaking the thoughts from her head. "It's disgusting!" She whined and Gordon just laughed.

"Go downstairs and say sorry." He suggested with a smile and Raven scrunched up her nose walking to the door.

"Not in a million years."

Skulduggery was relaxed in a maroon armchair in the diving room, a thick dusty book in his hands.

"Oh? You're back from your sulking?" He asked and she tried to control the urge to strangle his bony neck.

"You be quiet." She said stiffly and marched into the kitchen.

"No sassy comment this time?" His voice called from his seat and she glared in his direction.

"Nope." She replied quickly in a strangled voice and heard a laugh.

"A nice change I have to admit. I was afraid I was going to have to tape your mouth closed and make you ride in the boot." She took calming breaths but her hand curled into a fist, that skeleton was pushing his chances of survival.

"Oh _darling_? A cup of Earl Gray and a crumpet, _thank you_!" His voice was in high spirits as he chattered and Raven twitched, her hand slamming down onto the counter.

"That's _it_!" She cried and stormed into the living room; the skeleton was already at the door with his hat in his hand.

"The tea and crumpet can wait till next time, till next time my love!" He sang and Raven glowered.

"Get back here!" She screeched as he danced down the driveway.

"No thank you! You'd kill me if I got close!" He said and bowed.

"Have a nice night Raven." And with that the skeleton was gone. She gritted her teeth and breathed heavily, a glare still evident on her face.

"Next time I see him, I'll have his stupid skull sent to the middle of the Sahara Desert…." She told herself and stalked back inside, slamming the door behind her.


	4. News

**A/N: Well here you go~! Sorry its taken me so long to update! But hopefully things can go a bit quicker from now on! Who knows... my stories have a mind of their own, a very stubborn mind. Enjoy~!**

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The emerald eyes peeked up and stared at the stove top across from them. There it was, a large bug with multiple legs and a red coating sitting there calmly. The lips belonging to the green-eyed girl pulled up into a determined sneer and she crawled around the counter, keeping her eyes on her target.

Slowly she got onto her knees and waited for the perfect time. There, the bug was unaware and she leapt up swinging the pan wildly in front of her. She stopped and looked down. The bug was gone. She gave a smug smile and put the pan down, dusting off her hands happily.

She froze. She felt it. The prickle as small legs crawled across her shoulder. Raven shrieked and started running about the room shaking madly as she tried to rid herself of the insect. She heard laughter and spun around, still shaking and saw Skulduggery standing in the doorway staring at her.

"Get it off me!" She howled only making him laugh harder.

"It's gone though."

She rushed to the mirror and inspected her reflection, sighing with relief when she saw she was bug-free.

"So the deadly Raven Withers is afraid of insects?" His voice was full of skepticism and Raven growled, snatching up her pan and pointing it at him.

"You stupid dead man, after that jab a week ago I'm going to smash your bones and feed them to pigeons!"

He laughed again and she glared at him angrily. He was making a mockery of her and she despised it. "And what the _hell_ is with this dump? There isn't any food! The only stuff I could find was coated with mould and smelt foul!"

Skulduggery shrugged. "That isn't my problem. I don't eat."

"Yes, but it is _mine_! I've been starving here!"

Again he shrugged. "I don't really much care about that, if you didn't realize."

"Hate doesn't even begin to describe it…" She hissed to herself and threw the pan down, stalking up the stairs.

"And where are you going?" He asked, following her to the second floor.

"To get changed you imbecile of a skeleton." She yelled at him and slammed the door in his face.

"Well that wasn't very polite." He grumbled. His voice muffled from inside the room.

"I don't really much care, if you didn't realize." She called out sarcastically as she pulled a black coat over her white sweater and black jeans. Raven heard him muttering to himself beyond the door as she pulled on her black boots.

How she ever got stuck in such a ridiculous situation was beyond her. Yes coming to Ireland had been her actions but getting stuck with a stupid, insulting undead detective hadn't been part of her plan.

"You know." Raven started as they walked down the driveway towards the detective's car. "You seem like such a polite skeleton, but then after you've met you realize what an ass you are."

He turned to look at her and sighed.

"Do be quiet, I'm trying to limit our bickering for today since Valkyrie is under the impression that we are the best of friends now."

Raven raised an eyebrow and started mumbling to herself as she got in the front beside him.

"Well she's in for a rude awakening…"

* * *

As they drove along icy roads Skulduggery kept talking to her much to her displeasure. She'd only end up snapping at the unusually talkative fellow.

"-At least try to get along with me, she allowed you to stay in her house it's the least you could do."

"Yes, but I didn't ask her to do that." She pointed out and he said nothing.

The silence remained until the pulled up in front of a rather plain looking house in a normal neighbourhood.

"Valkyrie's house." Skulduggery informed her and she struggled with the door but managed to get it open.

Raven wasn't sure why they had come, but she hurried up the steps and knocked on the door urgently- it was freezing outside. That was the one thing she disliked about Ireland, its weather. She heard footsteps approaching and the door sung open to an ordinary looking woman wearing a spotted apron and oven mitts.

Raven assumed this was Valkyrie's mother, her normal mother who didn't know anything about the world of magic and would definitely be surprised to see a pale girl with unnatural green eyes that almost glowed in a punkish outfit.

The green eyes flicked back and she kicked herself mentally, Skulduggery was nowhere to be seen, she was the only one, even the Bentley was gone. She should have thought about it more clearly, of course he couldn't allow Valkyrie's parents to see him- being a walking undead skeleton had its flaws.

"Um, I'm sorry, can I help you?" The lady asked in a vacant voice.

Raven put on her best smile but it looked strained and even a little evil.

"Oh yes, I'm one of Valkyrie's friends. Is she in?"

The lady looked a bit hesitant to reply but took a small breath and leaned into the house to call out her daughter's name. Raven's excellent hearing picked up a slightly muffled reply and after about a minute the brown haired girl came clambering down the stairs.

She didn't look surprised to see Raven causing the black haired girl's suspicions to rise to another level.

"Oh hey…" She paused blank for a moment then shoved a grin back on her face. "…Fiona! I was waiting for you to get here!"

She turned to explain things to her mother quickly and Raven stared at her with horror before Valkyrie grabbed her hand and dragged her up the stairs to her bedroom, slamming the door behind them. Skulduggery was there, poised and perfect, sitting on her windowsill. Raven swore his skull looked smug despite that being impossible.

She scowled and took a seat on her small but comfy bed and glowered at him.

"A lovely encounter down there my dear." He said jovially and Raven hissed.

"Well thanks a whole bloody lot! You could have said something!"

He shrugged and she remained scowling, unable to put her anger into words.

"I hope some smelly mutt urinates on your bones and the stench never fades!" She spat at him and he chuckled.

Valkyrie stared at them both, surprised. She had been under the impression that they were getting along well but it seems that had been a mistake, these two definitely weren't friends.

* * *

"To get right to the point, why are we here?" Raven asked, pulling off her coat since it was much warmer in here than outside.

The humor dropped from the air in seconds. Her eyes darted up and she met the cold empty sockets where Skulduggery's eyes would be if he were any normal detective- but she couldn't count herself as part of the normal society either. As much as she hated to admit it, she and the skeleton detective had a lot in common.

"You see a certain Victor was spotted on the outskirts of Ireland." Skulduggery said solemnly and Raven's eyes narrowed viciously but she said nothing.

Before he or Valkyrie could get a word in she was up from her seat on the bed in one fluid movement.

Taking two steps she crossed the floor of the bedroom and with a flick of her wrist the window slammed into the top of the pane, the ice frosted there tumbling down onto the sill.

"Where do you think you're going?" Skulduggery questioned her in a tired voice; he knew what she was doing. It was troublesome and impatient of her.

Raven crouched on the windowsill and turned her head back, the shadows about the room moving abnormally with her movement like she had summoned demons. A dark smile crossed her pale lips, with that old look in her eyes that the detective knew too well.

_"Out to play."_ She said, her voice colder than the snow outside and sharper than a carving knife, so full of malice and despair. And with that she was gone. Valkyrie had blinked and the next second all there was left was an open window letting in the chilly air.

She turned, concern etched on her face, to Skulduggery. She didn't need to ask; he knew what she wanted to say.

"This isn't good. Perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned that." He murmured to himself and pulled his hat down a little further over his face, leaning on his bony knees with a sigh.

"In her eyes." He explained. "That crazy look, it was the only expression she could wear during the war."

Valkyrie didn't speak; she couldn't find the right words to say- if there were any.

"There's a lot more going on with that girl then she lets on. She's suffered a lot more than I have." He said quietly.

This took Valkyrie by surprise, she was always convinced that no one could ever understand the pain Skulduggery had gone through.

"She's infected with insanity, it runs thicker than blood in her- she struggles to keep herself from killing every person walking on this earth every day. It's one of the reasons why she's so cynical and unpleasant. There are a lot of dark forces there too…"

Valkyrie stared sadly at where the black-haired girl had last been. She still had so much to learn about her, there was things not even Skulduggery knew.

"I can't say I feel sorry for her though." Valkyrie commented quietly. "She's that kind of person who hates people pitying her. She's as tough as nails, I'm going to try and help her… if she lets me."

If he could, the skeleton detective would smile at her. She was a kind girl, and maybe she could be of true help to The Wicked Cursed Raven… just maybe.

* * *

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